Salvia plant named ‘Crystal Blue’

ABSTRACT

The new and distinct cultivar of perennial  Salvia  plant named ‘Crystal Blue’ characterized by its large light blue-colored flowers densely arranged in verticils, with compact habit and stiff, upright, branched stems and strong vigorous growth rate and gray-green foliage.

Botanical denomination: Salvia nemorosa (Linnaeus).

Cultivar designation: ‘Crystal Blue’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofornamental Sage plant hereinafter referred to by the cultivar nameSalvia ‘Crystal Blue’ or as the new plant. The new plant was discoveredon May 19, 2010 in a commercial garden planting of Salvia ‘May Night’ inLake of the Hills, Ill., USA. The new plant was an isolated whole plantof flowering size. The new Salvia was isolated put under furtherevaluation at a nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA during the summer of 2012for the unique traits to be studied. The new plant was then furtherevaluated and asexually propagated by tip cuttings at the same nurseryin Zeeland, Mich. The resulting asexually propagated plants of Salvia‘Crystal Blue’ have been found to be true to type and stable insuccessive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of Salvia ‘Crystal Blue’ have not been observed under allpossible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature, nutrition and lightintensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

Salvia ‘Crystal Blue’ can be most closely compared to Salvia ‘Sal Card07’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 20,184, Salvia ‘May Night’ (not patented),Salvia ‘Blue Hill’ (not patented) and Salvia ‘Sensation Sky Blue’ (U.S.Plant Patent Pending by another inventor). In comparison to ‘Sal Card07’ the new plant is more upright in habit, has lighter blue coloredflowers, and the flowers are much larger. In comparison to ‘May Night’the new plant is approximately the same size, but is more branched andhas larger and lighter blue-colored flowers. In comparison to ‘BlueHill’, the new plant is more upright in habit, has thicker diameterstems with more branching, larger flowers but of similar light bluecolor. Compared to ‘Sensation Sky Blue’ the flowers are of similar size,but the new plant is larger in stem thickness and in habit, has lighterblue flowers and less reddish pigment in the calyxes.

The following characteristics in combination distinguish Saliva ‘CrystalBlue’ as a new and distinct cultivar:

-   -   1. Large light blue-colored flowers densely arranged in        verticils;    -   2. Compact rounded habit and stiff, upright, branched stems;    -   3. Strong, vigorous and winter-hardy;    -   4. Rugose gray-green foliage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the unique traits and theoverall appearance of Salvia ‘Crystal Blue’. The colors are as accurateas reasonably possible with color reproductions. Variation in ambientlight spectrum, source and direction may cause the appearance of minorvariation in color. The plant used in the photographs was a two-year oldplant grown in an open, full-sun trial garden at a wholesale perennialnursery in Zeeland, Mich. with supplemental water and fertilizer whenneeded. No plant growth regulators have been used.

FIG. 1 shows a close-up of the flower scape with the buds and uniquelight blue petal color.

FIG. 2 shows the plant habit in full flower in a landscape.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references except where commondictionary terms are used are based on the 2001 edition of The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart. Salvia ‘Crystal Blue’ has not beenobserved under all possible environments. The phenotype may varyslightly with different growing environments such as temperature, light,fertility, soil pH, moisture and plant maturity levels, but without anychange in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptionsare based on two-year old plants growing in an outdoor full-sun trialgarden at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. Plants weregiven supplemental water and fertilizer but no plant growth regulatorswere used.

-   Botanical classification: Salvia nemorosa (Linnaeus).-   Parentage: Female or seed parent believed to be Salvia ‘May Night’;    unknown male or pollen parent.-   Plant habit: Winter-hardy herbaceous perennial; multi-stemmed, with    mostly basal foliage, and flowers in several tightly arranged    verticils on branched upright racemes displayed above foliage; in    flower with panicles about 55 cm tall and about 60 cm wide at the    fullest point; foliage extends up the stems about 30 cm tall and 40    cm wide at base.-   Propagation: By herbaceous tip cuttings; time to produce a rooted    stems about two weeks.-   Growth rate: Rapid, vigorous, finishing in a 65 mm container in    about 7 weeks from rooted cutting, and from 65 mm container to    flowering 3.8 liter container in about 8 weeks.-   Root description: fine, well-branched; color dependent on age and    soil type, from cream to dark tan in color.-   Foliage: Opposite, simple, rugose, lanceolate; margin crenate,    glabrous upper and lower surfaces except veins; acute apex and base    cordate to auriculate with lobes sometimes overlapping; lightly    pubescent both surfaces; size to about 19.0 cm long; leaf blades    about leaves with petiole about 9.0 cm long and 7.0 cm across,    decreasing in size distally; average about 12.0 cm long and 3.5 cm    across; faint sage fragrance.-   Foliage color: Adaxial surface nearest RHS 136B; abaxial surface    between RHS N138D and RHS N138C.-   Venation: Reticulate; impressed on adaxial side and ridged on    abaxial side; pubescent, more heavily on abaxial.-   Vein color: Adaxial midrib lighter than RHS 138D, main veins nearest    RHS N138C and secondary veins same color as surrounding tissue;    abaxial midrib and main veins lighter than RHS 145D and RHS 139D,    secondary veins beginning lighter than RHS 145D and RHS 139D and    becoming nearest RHS 138D toward leaf margin.-   Petiole: Concave adaxial side, convex abaxial side, pubescent; to    about 7.0 cm long and 5.0 mm wide, average 4.0 cm long and 3.5 mm    wide at base.-   Petiole color: Adaxial surfaces center nearest RHS 145D and margins    nearest RHS 139C; abaxial center lighter than RHS 145D and RHS 139D    and margins between RHS 139B and RHS 139C.-   Flower description: Perfect, bilabiate, verticillate with flowering    generally beginning at lower verticils and advancing up the scape;    average distance between verticils about 9.0 mm, greater proximally    and less distally; with lower lip projected at about 90 degree angle    to stem and banner petal about 10 degree angle above horizontal;    self-cleaning, petals not persistent; flowering beginning late    spring for about four weeks and repeating if initial scapes removed.-   Flower longevity: About four days on the plant or as cut flower.-   Fragrance: Faint sweet honey.-   Flower buds one to two days prior to anthesis: Shape is rounded on    top and slightly concave below, with rounded apex; pubescent; about    1.0 cm long, 3.5 mm tall and 2.5 mm wide.-   Bud color: Petals between RHS N93C and RHS 94B; abaxial calyx distal    region nearest RHS 137B, base between RHS144B and RHS 144C, with    veins and portions of distal region in more light tinted with    nearest RHS 187B; adaxial calyx base nearest RHS 144D, and proximal    region between RHS 144B and RHS 144C with darker veins of nearest    RHS 137C.-   Flowers: About 1.4 cm long, 1.1 cm tall and 6.0 mm wide; clustered    at verticils with about six flowers per verticil.-   Petals: Bilabiate corolla; upper banner petal and flattened side to    side vertically, with notched apex and base fused with labium.-   Banner (upper) petal: Minutely pubescent outside, glabrous inside;    about 1.3 cm long, 0.8 cm tall and 3.0 mm across.-   Labium (lower) petal: Consisting of four lobes, two enrolled    proximal lobes about 2.5 mm long and 1.0 mm wide at base with acute    apex, two distal lobes about 4.0 mm long 4.0 mm wide with a 1.0 mm    apical notch between; lower labium slightly concaved upwards, about    1.2 cm long, 7.0 mm wide at the widest portion and 4.0 mm tall.-   Petal color: Upper banner petal between RHS 92C than RHS 97C outside    and between RHS 92D and RHS 97D inside; lower labium petal between    RHS 97D and RHS 92C in both inner and outer surfaces; fused base    inside calyx near white, much lighter than RHS N155A.-   Androecium: Two, fused with labium, contained within banner petal    except when triggered by pollinator.    -   -   Filament.—Glabrous, fused about 5.0 mm from base of labium            petal; curved around inside of banner petal; about 3.0 mm            long and less than 0.5 mm diameter, with flattened flared            region at base point of fusion with petal about 1.0 mm            across; color proximal region between RHS 85A and RHS 85B,            lightening to between RHS 84D and RHS 84C before stamen.        -   Anther.—Glabrous, oblong, less than1.0 mm long and less than            0.5 mm diameter; longitudinal, dorsifixed; color between RHS            160D and RHS 157A.        -   Pollen.—Globose, less than 0.5 mm circumference; color            nearest RHS 11B.-   Gynoecium: One, curved around inside of banner petal.    -   -   Style.—About 1.5 cm long and less than 1 mm diameter; color            lighter than RHS N155D and RHS 85D at base; darkening            distally to between RHS 84B and RHS 85B before stigma split.        -   Stigma.—Split in two and curved in the terminal 2.0 mm; apex            pointed; color between RHS 86A and RHS 86B on older flower            and on younger flowers nearest RHS 86C.        -   Ovary.—Superior; color nearest RHS 144A.        -   Fruit.—Nutlet, up to four at base inside calyx; rounded,            about 1.0 mm diameter; color darker than RHS 200A.-   Calyx: Five sepals, three upper and two lower, campanulate, apex    acute; fused base; tube about 7.0 mm long and 5.0 mm tall at mouth    and 3.0 mm wide; lower set fused to within 3.0 mm of apex and cleft    about 3.0 mm deep between upper and lower set; upper set of three    fused to closer than 0.5 mm of apex.-   Calyx color: Abaxial between RHS 144A and RHS 144B with tinting of    between RHS N186C and RHS N187B; adaxial between RHS 144B and RHS    N144C with darker veins of RHS 137B.-   Bracts: Each verticil subtended by two opposite bracts; apex    acuminate, base attenuate, shape nearly cordate; margin minutely    pubescent, and glabrous above and below; bract size up to 8.0 mm    long and 7.0 mm wide, decreasing distally; color of both surfaces    nearest RHS 141B on margin about 1.0 mm wide, with center and base    vein nearest RHS 155A.-   Peduncles: Quadrangular in cross section, about 16 per plant;    strong; mostly upright, up to 60 cm tall and 5.0 mm across; finely    pubescent; branches upright at lower nodes with branches to about    15.0 cm long and 3.0 mm across; average internode distance about 6.5    cm.-   Peduncle color: Between RHS 138A and RHS 138B in upper and lower    regions.-   Pedicels: Cylindrical, about 2.0 mm long and 0.5 mm diameter;    pubescent; horizontal to about 20 degrees above horizontal.-   Pedicel color: Between RHS 146C and RHS 146D.-   Disease and pest resistance: Plants of Salvia ‘Crystal Blue’ perform    best with adequate moisture and good drainage; are hardy from USDA    zone 3 to 8; resistant to diseases and pests beyond that common to    Salvia has not been noted.

It is claimed:
 1. The new and distinct perennial Salvia plant named‘Crystal Blue’ as herein described and illustrated useful forlandscaping as a specimen plant, en masse or as a cut flower.